Japanese snacks, sweets and gift shop TofuCute urges people to shop local

And the idea is already proving popular, with orders flooding into the Fratton shop via its website.

The shop, in Kingston Road, opened in December 2014 and sells products in the Japanese ‘Kawaii’ style.

Bright, colourful and fun items like sweets, snacks, stationery and toys adorn the shelves of the shop, which is known for its bright pink exterior.

The majority of its business moved online during the last lockdown – and manager Laska Goldsack said this has given them a good understanding of how to carry on trading successfully this time.

Laska spoke of the ways they have adapted, as The News and Portsmouth City Council promote their #supportlocal campaign, which aims to get customers to buy online from local people.

Laska said: ‘Our lucky bags are selling really well. They range from £12 to £60 and contain all sorts of different things like Japanese candy, plush, notepads.

‘Our customers are really enjoying buying gifts for other people and getting an assortment of goodies, some of which they would never have seen or tried before.

‘For us, we have been lucky to have such great customers.

‘Our Christmas orders have started to kick in, so our focus has been on those, and we will have to see how business is in December as to whether we can open the doors of our shop again.

‘We will definitely be having a click and collect service, and we do delivery too.

‘The news of this lockdown was very disappointing but at least this time round we know what to expect and it is reassuring to know that there is an end date in sight. Last time it was tough because we did not know how long it was going to last for.’

SEE ALSO: Plea from defiant Portsmouth traders asking customers to ditch Amazon and follow their stores online

The business was the brainchild of co-owners Rosanna Mackney, also known as Zanni, and Rob Fulton, both from North End.

They set up dreamybows.com and tofucute.com 10 years ago and quickly gained a cult following of fans.

Laska said it was important for people to shop local, in order to boost the local economy.

She added: ‘When you support a small business like ours, you are supporting someone’s passion. They have put a lot into that and giving a pound to their business, means that money is going to someone’s family locally rather than into the pockets of large corporations.

‘As a small local business, we have a great relationship with our customers. It is nice to see their names pop up when they put an order in.

‘We get a lot of emails from people saying they appreciate our service, and that’s something you don’t get with the large chains.’

For more go to tofucute.com

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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